In order to come to you, Konjac waited for 4 years

Oden, a street snack originated in Japan, was introduced to China by Japanese convenience stores in the last century and transformed into a more down-to-earth "Oden". Now, Oden has become one of the favorite daily snacks of Chinese people, especially office workers - tender and runny boiled eggs, juicy and tasty peeled white radish, and a few strings of chewy konjac shreds and kelp rolls, a lazy man's hearty lunch is ready.

Oden is also a common dish on many people's "late-night canteen" menu | Ocdp / wikimedia

But did you know that konjac , which has become the center of the Japanese food industry, is actually from China?

Hometown in China

Konjac Amorphophallus konjac is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Amorphophallus in the family Araceae, native to China and Southeast Asia . Villagers in southwestern provinces such as Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan have had the habit of making and eating konjac since ancient times - roasted duck with snow konjac, stir-fried konjac with spicy sauce, etc. Just thinking about it makes people salivate, but they can only toss and turn in the middle of the night.

Konjac in a greenhouse | James Steakley / wikimedia

Japan, which has brought konjac to its fullest, did not originally produce konjac. However, as early as the Jomon period, Japan introduced konjac from the Korean Peninsula, but it was not until the early 17th century (Edo period) that Japan introduced konjac on a large scale from China.

For a long time, the cultivation and manufacturing technology of konjac was monopolized by some feudal lords. Later, due to the maturity and breakthrough of the cultivation and production techniques, as well as the promotion of the Japanese government, in the Taisho era, konjac gradually changed from a health-preserving medicinal ingredient favored by monks and nobles to a snack for the common people on the streets.

The konjac meatball skewers I bought at the World Cultural Heritage "Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range (Mount Yoshino)" in April 2018 | Attack of Succulents

Konjac is called "こんにゃく" in Japanese, pronounced as konnyaku. The specific epithet konjac is derived from the Japanese name, and its full name is "konjac taro". The name konjac [jǔ ruò] is currently more common in Taiwan, China and Japan, and originally referred to two different plants.

According to the annotations and research by Tang Dynasty scholar Li Shan in the late 7th century in "Selected Works of Literature Volume 4: Shudu Fu", "Konjac" is a kind of aromatic climbing plant, referring to Piper betle of the Piperaceae family, now mostly called "Luye", and "Konjac" is konjac, also called "Konjac head". When it was first introduced to Japan, it was also called "Konjac head", and later referred to as "Konjac".

Betel leaves are a common ingredient in chewing betel quid | Pamri / wikimedia

Delicious food is the result of years of waiting

The above-ground part of the konjac looks lush and graceful, but in fact, this part is just the leaves. The tall, upright, spotted "stems" are actually their petioles, which can grow as tall as an adult . In addition, the leaves are pinnate and constantly split from the petioles, giving people the illusion of a lush tree.

In fact, the stems of konjac are buried underground , oblate, thick and fleshy, which is their edible part . However, it often takes 3 to 4 years to cultivate them into tubers that can be processed and eaten.

The "big disk" at the bottom of the picture is the edible tuber of konjac | thebotanicallife.com

Since konjac cannot tolerate cold, the leaves of the aboveground part will wither in autumn. At this time, if the underground tubers are dug out, some tiny rhizomes can be seen on them. These rhizomes can be carefully broken off and used for vegetative propagation and seedling expansion . Then the tubers are dried for a few days and stored in a warehouse, and then planted in early summer of the next year. This process can be repeated year after year. By the fourth year, high-quality tubers can be dug and processed into delicious konjac shreds.

The protrusions are rhizomes | Sebastian Stabinger / wikimedia

Konjac is delicious, but the process of making it by hand is a bit laborious. Generally, the tubers need to be ground into pulp, washed with water, and then added with alkali such as plant ash to make it firm. Because konjac contains calcium oxalate needle crystals , direct contact with mucous membranes or wounds will cause burning pain and swelling. If you handle the tubers with your bare hands, you will also be irritated, like being pricked by needles and itching unbearably .

Unlike other tuber root crops, konjac tuber starch content is very small, the main component is konjac glucomannan, also known as "konjac mannan". This component is almost not digested in the human intestine, but also promotes intestinal peristalsis , so konjac is a good choice when you need to limit calorie intake.

Various forms of konjac | bs-academy.jp

The tubers have been eaten, but what about the flowers?

It usually takes at least 5 years for konjac to bloom . The reason why it is rarely seen is that most konjac is harvested and made into konjac noodles before it blooms (so sad).

The flowers of konjac grow directly from underground tubers, sometimes up to one meter high, which is quite spectacular, and there are no leaves at this time. They have the characteristics of Araceae - funnel-shaped spathe , but the spathe of konjac is larger and more colorful than that of other members.

Inside the spathe is a columnar "gun", which is the spadix of the konjac, and is composed of three parts : the purple-black rod at the top is an appendage of the spadix, formed by the fusion of sterile stamens and the inflorescence axis. It emits a rotten meat-like odor during sexual maturity, attracting scavenging insects for pollination; the lower part near the base is the male inflorescence of the konjac, which is generally yellow; the protruding part at the bottom is its female inflorescence.

The three parts of the Amorphophallus konjac spathe, with close-ups of the male and female flowers | Paethon & Neil Thompson / wikimedia

How to eat konjac

In this world, perhaps no one knows how to cook konjac better than the Chinese and Japanese.

In oden, there are two most common forms of konjac: one is made from konjac flour into threads, then tied and strung on bamboo sticks to form konjac knots . The thin and long konjac threads are white and bright, like clear streams converging to form waterfalls, so the Japanese gave it a very artistic name "Shirataki", which means white waterfall. After a long time of stewing, konjac knots absorb the flavor of miso or bonito flakes, and they are not overcooked for a long time. They are refreshing and chewy, and have a delicious flavor. They are one of the must-order delicacies for many people.

Konjac knot is called "结び白滝" in Japanese | namikishokuhin.com

Another type is triangular konjac tofu , which is made from konjac flour - thick, translucent gray, and mixed with black impurities. This method retains the more original flavor of konjac, and the taste is rougher than konjac, and it is chewier when eaten .

In some ACG works, konjac tofu has some special uses | namikishokuhin.com

There is a famous konjac product in Omihachiman City, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. Its shape is no different from ordinary konjac tofu, but its color is red like pig blood , so it is easily mistaken for blood curd. In fact, it is ordinary konjac flour with ferric oxide (Fe2O3) added during the production process. It is said that this method was invented by the "Great Devil" Oda Nobunaga.

This konjac is really dazzling | macaro-ni.jp

In addition to oden, konjac also plays a very important role in sukiyaki, grilled food, sashimi, pasta and other fields.

Konjac sashimi, sukiyaki and fried konjac | woinary & Ocdp / wikimedia; WordRidden / flick

In addition, konjac has even extended its delicious tentacles to the second dimension. In Doraemon, there is a prop called "translation konjac", which can help you understand various foreign languages ​​(and some strange languages) after eating it. This kind of konjac that can acquire language talent just by eating it is probably what many people longed for when they were young.

When I was a child, I was always curious about how much stuff Doraemon's dimensional bag contained | Doraemon

Author: Attack of the flesh

This article comes from GuokrNature (ID: GuokrNature)